Jason Collins Makes History

When you hear that an athlete has made history in the sports world you assume that they broke a record by scoring a certain amount of points that has never been hit before, ran a faster time than any other that has been recorded, or broke a streak that has never lasted as long. Well in the case of Jason Collins, an 11 year veteran in the NBA; he made history in a far different kind of way. He has recently become the first athlete in a major sports league to make the public announcement that he is gay. for a long time there has been speculation about the presence of gay athletes in U.S. and when one would inevitably come out and make such an announcement. obviously Jason Collins can not be the first gay athlete, but surely the fear of criticism and scrutiny from the others in the "good ol' boys club" has caused others to keep their personal life's personal. Jason's announcement has received some negative comments from others in the sports world and elsewhere, but it seems that we are now in a day and age that this type of announcement is able to be met with acceptance from his peers. such high profile figures such as Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers, and even former U.S. President Bill Clinton tweeted their praise to Jason's courage and stating how happy and proud they are to call him a friend. Jason even received a phone call that is usually only made to athletes on a night that they break a record or win a championship, that call being from President Obama praising Jason for his courage. Jason is now being compared to other groundbreaking athletes as Jackie Robinson for being a first in sports, whether this comparison will hold as true in history, is yet to be told. source: Sports Illustrated, Associated Press.